Toronto Maple Leafs Surprise With Joe Thornton on Top Line

With training camp starting today, the Toronto Maple Leafs have already revealed some new-look forward lines.

The Toronto Maple Leafs made a number of new additions during the off-season, trying to build a roster that can help them get over the first round hump, and both general manager Kyle Dubas and head coach Sheldon Keefe have revealed how the team will tentatively look.

Speaking at the team’s media availability on the first day of training camp, Dubas caught people’s attention when he revealed that 41-year-old Joe Thornton will start by playing on the left wing alongside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.

Keefe proceeded to reveal all four of the team’s offensive lines, which will shake up some long-held partnerships on the team.

A New-Look Offense

The headline-grabber from the reveal is understandably Thornton being placed on the first line of the Toronto Maple Leafs offense, where he will transition away from his usual spot at center and move to left wing.

Thornton, who is undoubtedly headed to the Hall of Fame when his playing days are over, has spent his entire 22 seasons in the NHL playing through the middle – with a 54.3% success rate in the face-off circle and 1509 total points (420 goals, 189 assists) in 1636 regular season appearances. (All Stats via Hockey Reference).

Thornton was one of the best playmakers in the league at his peak and seeing him partnered with two of the Leafs top stars will be interesting to witness, especially with Marner looking to contribute more in front of the net. Another interesting part of the lines reveal sees another offseason addition in Jimmy Vesey partner with team captain John Tavares and William Nylander on the second line.

Vesey has been a decent goalscorer in the NHL to date, with 50 goals in 240 appearances while predominantly playing third line minutes (14:30 TOI average) with the New York Rangers and Buffalo Bills.  If Vesey is given more minutes, playing alongside the second and third-highest scorers on the team last year, it could see an uptick in his overall offensive production – with his career-high to date being 35 during his last year with the Rangers.

The Leafs wanted Vesey when he was coming out of college four years ago, so it’s unsurprising that Dubas acquired him this off-season and to see him start his time with the team high up the line-up should be an interesting storyline to follow with the start of the season just ten days away.

Ilya Mikheyev, Alex Kerfoot and Zach Hyman make up the current third line for the Toronto Maple Leafs, with the latter surprisingly finding his position in the line-up reducing after once being on the top line alongside Matthews.

Jason Spezza returns to fill the bottom line center position, having had an impressive season in Toronto last year, while fellow off-season additions Alexander Barabanov and Wayne Simmonds will play on either side of his wings.

Simmonds was a popular addition to the team, with many hoping he can provide some physicality  while still having some offensive production left in him, while Barabanov will be watched closely as he is a relative unknown in North America, having played the majority of his professional career in the KHL.

These lines are all tentative to start the season, with changes more than likely as camp progresses and the chemistry between teammates becomes clearer, but it is positive to see the team willing to make some changes after a number of one-series knockouts in the post-season and will be something worth watching as things move forward.

A full rundown of the Leafs lines can be found on Daily Faceoff, which also gives an insight into what potential defensive pairings the team could run.